Peter I leaves a succession that his institutions cannot secure

Peter survived the Great Northern War's settlement by only four years, and his succession proved fragile. Dynastic planning had to allow for high childhood mortality, cooperation among surviving heirs and marriages that could secure allies. Catherine I spent her two years in power trying to preserve her husband's achievements. The institutional problem remained that Peter had designed a system he could personally enforce. Preserving its rules did not supply another ruler with his ability to make them work.